IN AN escalation of tensions between India and Pakistan, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has issued a stark warning to India following its suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, declaring that "either our water or their blood will flow through it."
Speaking at a public rally, Bhutto-Zardari's inflammatory rhetoric signals Pakistan's fury over India's punitive actions taken in response to the recent Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives. His comments represent one of the most aggressive statements from a Pakistani leader since the incident occurred.
"The Indus is ours and will remain ours. Either our water will flow through it, or their blood will," Bhutto-Zardari declared to supporters, ratcheting up the already tense situation between the nuclear-armed neighbours.
The Indus Waters Treaty, signed in September 1960 after years of complex negotiations, governs the distribution of water from six rivers of the Indus basin between India and Pakistan. The suspension of this long-standing agreement could have profound implications for Pakistan, as it relies on these waters for approximately 80 per cent of its agricultural land.
Bhutto-Zardari, who previously served as Pakistan's foreign minister, directed particular criticism at Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, claiming that neither Pakistan nor the international community would tolerate what he described as Modi's "warmongering" or attempts to divert the Indus waters.
"He (Modi) says they are heirs to a civilisation thousands of years old, but that civilisation lies in Mohenjo Daro, in Larkana. We are its true custodians, and we will defend it," Bhutto-Zardari said, though historians note that the Indus Valley civilisation actually spread across both modern-day Pakistan and significant portions of western India.
The PPP leader's comments follow a pattern of heightened rhetoric from Pakistani officials, making him the second senior Pakistani figure after defence minister Khawaja Asif to publicly target Modi following Modi's recent speech at a rally in Bihar.
In that address, the Indian leader had vowed to "identify, track and punish" every terrorist and their supporters, promising to "pursue them to the ends of the earth."
Bhutto-Zardari claimed that Pakistan had already condemned the Pahalgam terror attack but accused India of blaming Pakistan to distract from its own government's failures. "India is unlawfully abrogating the treaty under which it had acknowledged that the Indus belongs to Pakistan," he further alleged.
The Indian government has responded forcefully to these provocations. Indian minister Hardeep Singh Puri dismissed Bhutto-Zardari as a "fool" and warned that Pakistan would face severe consequences for the Pahalgam attack.
"There was a terrorist attack in Pahalgam... Pakistan will have to pay the price for it. This is just the beginning. Bilawal Bhutto is a fool... if he doesn't get water, he will keep shouting like this," Puri remarked.
Another Indian minister Piyush Goyal asserted that India would not be intimidated by threats from across the border. "Pakistan has no priority other than spreading terrorism... even the people of Pakistan will not agree with such statements," he said.
According to reports, international observers are watching closely as diplomatic channels appear increasingly strained in the aftermath of the deadly Pahalgam attack.
(with inputs from agencies)
Rishi Sunak and Akshata Murty. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images) 
